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Etenraku, Nokorigaku Senben

[Genre]Gagaku

Etenraku, Nokorigaku Senben appears on the following albums

Album Artist
Play ButtonGagaku
ETENRAKU, NOKORIGAKU SANBEN (hyojo)
This piece, composed in China during the T'ang dynasty, is one of the most typical gagaku numbers. The tune has been borrowed for Buddhist hymns and school songs and there is even an arrangement of it for Western orchestra.

Nokorigaku is a special form of gagaku performance. The piece is repeated three times, the first time with the full ensemble, while during the second time the percussion instruments fall silent and, except for the koto section, only the first- chair members of the other sections play. During the second playing, first the sho and then the flute drops out. Only the koto section and the first biwa and hichiriki remain to begin the third repetition. The hichiriki stitches short melodic fragments over the background of koto figures and the piece ends with a final figure on the koto.